Mounting bracket for heat exchangers and the like



' Jan. 1, 1963 c. ZONKER 3,

MOUNTING BRACKET FOR HEAT EXCHANGERS AND THE LIKE Filed July 36, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet 1 72 t l INVENTOR. 45 0 90 70 50 72 LAWRENCE C Z ONKEI?Jan. 1, 1963 L. c. ZONKER 3,071,186

MOUNTING BRACKET FOR HEAT EXCHANGERS AND THE LIKE Filed July so, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. LAWRENCE 6. Z ONKER A TTOEA/EY United States.Patent ()fitice 3,071,1tr8 Patented Jan. 1, 1963 MOUNTING BRACKET FORHEAT EXCHANGERS AND THE LIKE Lawrence C. Zonker, Los Angeles, Caliti,assignor to Beam Products Manufacturing (10., Los Angeles,

Caiii, a corporation of California Filed July 30, 1959, Ser. No. 830,6112 Claims. (Cl. 165-67 This invention relates to a mounting bracket forheat exchangers and the like and, more particularly, to a mountingbracket whereby heat exchanger fluid is adapted to be conveyed throughthe bracket to the heat exchanger itself, thus permitting the bracket toserve the dual functions of a heat exchanger fluid conduit and a bracketfor physically mounting the heat exchanger in operative relationshipwith an engine or other mechanicm with which it is associated.

In describing the construction and mode of operation or" the variousembodiments of the mounting bracket of my invention hereinbelow,particular reference will be made to the utilization of the mountingbracket as a means whereby a heat exchanger adapted to cause thevaporization of liquefied petroleum gas may be connected in fluidcommunication with a source of heat exchanger fluid and mounted inoperative relationship with an engine which is cooled by said heatexchanger fluid. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that the concepts inherent in the invention may be applied withequal cogency to mounting brackets adapted to mount a wide variety ofdifferent types of mechanisms wherein the need arises to establish fluidcommunication with a source of fluid and to physically mount themechanisms in juxtaposition to said source.

In the conventional practice of utilizing heat exchangers of thecharacter referred to immediately hereinabove, the heat exchanger ismounted on the head or other portion of an internal combustion engine bymeans of a separate mounting bracket and is connected to the coolingsystem of the engine by means of separate inlet and outlet lines whichconduct the fluid to and from the heat exchanger to cause the heat to beextracted from the coolant in the cooling system, which constitutes theheat exchanger fluid, in order to accomplish the vaporization of theliquefied petroleum gas flowing through the heat exchanger.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a mountingbracket for a heat exchanger which serves both to establish fluidcommunication between the cooling system of the internal combustionengine with which the heat exchanger is associated and to physicallysupport the heat exchanger in operative relationship with said engine.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a bracket for a heatexchanger which includes a unitary, elongated body having a. flowpassage therein adapted to be placed in communication with the supply ofheat exchanger fluid and which includes mounting pad means adapted tosupport a heat exchanger on said bracket, said mounting pad meansincluding a fluid outlet port connected tothe flow passage by means of afluid bore interposed between said port and said flow passage. In thismanner, it is possible to eliminate the necessity for the provision of aseparate molnting bracket and separate connections to establish fluidcommunication between the cooling system of the internal combustionengine and the heat exchanger.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a bracket of theaforementioned character which is incorporated in an elongated, unitarybody and which has a flange on one portion adapted to be interposedbetween the head and return hose to the radiator of an internalcombustion engine. The flange encompasses a flow passage which ismaintained in communication with a heat exchanger mounted upon a secondportion of the body by means of a bypass bore interposed between theflow passage and the second portion of the body.

By the provision of a mounting bracket constructed in accordance withthe teachings of the invention, it is possible to eliminate the separatemounting brackets and the dual hose connections customarily necessary inmounting heat exchangers in operative relationship with internalcombustion engines. Thus, considerable economies in both materials andlabor result from the utilization of the teachings of the invention.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification and the accompanying drawings, which are for thepurpose of illustration only and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, side elevational view showing a mountingbracket constructed in accordance with the teachings of my invention andutilized to mount a heat exchanger in operative relationship with aninternal combustion engine;

FIG. 2 is a transverse, sectional view taken on the broken line 2--2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is i an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view taken on the brokenline 3-3 of FIG. 1; I

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of an alternative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of yet another alternative embodiment of myinvention; and

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of another alternative embodiment of myinvention.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1-3 thereof, I showa mounting bracket 10 constructed in accordance with the teachings of myinvention and adapted to be interposed between the head 12 of aninternal combustion engine 14 and the thermostat housing 16 constitutingthe operative connection between the cooling system of the engine 14 andthe return hose 18 to the radiator 20. The water or other coolant in thecooling system of the internal combustion engine 14 is referred tohereinafter as the heat exchange fluid since it is. utilized as heatexchange medium to vaporize, or partially vaporize, liquefied petroleumgas flowing through a heat exchanger 22.

The bracket 16 is incorporated in a unitary, elongated body 24 which ispreferably fabricated by the aluminum sand casting process and whichincludes a first portion 26 incorporating a flange 28 adapted to beinterposed between the top of the head 12 of the engine 14 and thethermostat housing 16. Bolts 30, which are somewhat longer than theoriginal equipment bolts, pass through the thermostat housing 16 andregistering openings 32 in the flange 28 to secure the thermostathousing 16 and the flange 28 in juxtaposition to the coolant outletopening, not shown, provided in the head 12.

The flange 28 encompasses a vertically oriented flow passage 34 whichpermits the upward flow of coolant through the flange 2.8 and into thereturn hose 18 to the radiator 20. In this manner the bracket 10 isfixedly secured in operative relationship with the internal combustionengine 14.

Mounting pad means 38 is provided on the second portion 40 of thebracket 10 and is adapted to support the housing 42 of the heatexchanger 22 in operative relationship with the bracket 10. The mountingpad means 38 is constituted by mounting pads 44 and 46 which aredisposed in spaced relationship with each other and which, respectively,have an outlet port 48 and a return port 50 associated therewith.

The outlet port 48 is placed in communication with the flow passage 34by means of a horizontally oriented, fluid bypass bore 56. The outletport 48 is disposed intermediate the extremities of said here and theend thereof is closed by means of a plug 58. The heat exchanger 22 isprovided with a fluid inlet opening 60 and a fluid outlet opening 62 andsaid openings are threaded, as at 64, ad jacent the lower extremitiesthereof. The surfaces of the housing 42 adjacent the inlet and outletopenings 60 and 62 are adapted to be juxtaposed to the mounting pads 44and 46 so that the flow of heat exchanger fluid may pass through theoutlet port 48 into the inlet opening 60 of the heat exchanger and mayflow outwardly from the outlet opening 62 to the return port 50.

Gaskets 66 are interposed between the adjacent surfaces of the housing42 and the mounting pads 44 and 46 to prevent fluid leakage between saidsurfaces. In order to maintain the housing 42 of the heat exchanger 22in operative relationship with the mounting pads 44 and 46, fasteningmeans 70 are provided which are constituted by bolts 72 having fluidpassages 74 in the shanks thereof disposed in communication with therespective outlet and return ports 48 and 50. In addition, the threadedextremities of the bolts 72 engage the threads 64 in the inlet andoutlet openings 60 and 62 of the heat exchanger 22 to fasten the heatexchanger 22 securely upon the bracket 10. Gaskets 76 are interposedbetween the heads of the bolts 72 and the undersides of the mountingpads 44 and 46 to prevent leakage therebetween.

A return fitting 80 communicates with a bore 82 which terminates at thereturn port 50 and said fitting is adapted to be connected by means of ahose 84 to the suction side of the water pump, not shown, associatedwith the internal combustion engine 14. The second portion 40 of themounting bracket includes an oil sump 88 which may be drained by theremoval of a plug 90 from operative relationship therewith. The oil sumpis adapted to receive foil drained from an oil drainage port 92intermediate the inlet and outlet openings 60 and 62 of the heatexchanger 22. A gasket 94 is interposed between the oil drainage port 92and the sump 88 to prevent leakage of oil therebetween.

When the internal combustion engine 14 is operating, heat exchange fluidflows through the flow passage 34 and is bypassed through the bore 56 tothe outlet port 48 whence it flows through the passage 74 in the bolt 72to serve as a heat exchange medium for vaporizing the liquefiedpetroleum gas in the heat exchanger 22. The heat exchange fluid flowsout of the outlet opening 62 from the heat exchanger 22 and into thereturn port 50 through the passage 74 in the bolt 72. The fitting 80conveys the spent heat exchange fluid through the hose 84 to the suc-'tion side of the pump, not shown.

As previously indicated, the thermostat, not shown, depends downwardlyfrom the thermostat housing 16 into the fluid passage 34 and controlsthe return of the coolant to the radiator through the return hose 18.Excess oil drains into the sump 88 and can be removed therefrom byunthreading the plug 90.

The bracket 100 shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings is incorporated in anelongated body 104 having a flange 108 at one extremity thereof whichincorporates a flow pas- :sage 114 adapted to be interposed between thethermostat housing 16 and the head 12 of the engine 14. Mounting pads116 and 118 respectively incorporate outlet and return ports 120 and122. A return fitting 124 is associated with the return port 122 topermit the heat exchange fluid to be returned to the suction side of thepump, not shown.

An oil sump 126 functions to receive oil from an oil drain provided onthe heat exchanger associated with the mounting bracket 160. A bypassbore 128 is adapted to cause heat exchange fluid to be bypassed from theflow passage 114 to the outlet port 120 and, thence, to the inletopening of an associated heat exchanger. A plug 130 prevents leakage ofdrainage oil from the oil sump 126. It will be noted that the flange 1G8incorporates mounting openings 132 and is oriented in parallelism withthe bypass bore 128. Therefore, the bracket 1% is adapted to mount theassociated heat exchanger to one side of rather than rearwardly of thethermostat housing 16, as is the case with the bracket 16 previouslydiscussed hereinabove.

A bracket constituting another embodiment of the invention is shown inFIG. 5 of the drawing as including a unitary body 142 having a flange144 at one extremity and a mounting pad 146 at its other extremity. Aflow passage 143 is encompassed by the flange 144. The bracket 140 isconsiderably shorter and more compact than the previously discussedembodiments of the invention and includes an outlet port 148 and areturn port 156 formed in the mounting pad 146. A return fitting 152 isassociated with the return port to return heat exchange fluid to thesuction side of the pump, not shown. An oil sump 156 closed off by aplug 158 is adapted to be juxtaposed to the oil drain of the heatexchanger to be associated with the bracket 141).

A bracket 169 constituting another alternative embodiment of theinvention is shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings as embodied in the form ofa unitary structure 162 having a flange 166 at one extremity thereof.The flange 166 incorporates mounting openings 168 and encompasses a flowpassage 170. The flow passage 170 is connected by a bypass bore 172 toan outlet port 174 formed in a mounting pad 176. A return port 178 isprovided in the mounting pad 176 and has a return fitting 180 associatedtherewith. An oil sump 182 is provided which is closed off by a plug184.

The embodiments of the invention discussed hereinabove illustrate thebasic concept of providing a mounting bracket which incorporates meansto supply a heat exchange fluid to an associated heat exchanger. Theindividual brackets are designed to accommodate heat exchangers ofdifferent configurations and to permit the heat exchangers to be mountedon different engines and in different orientations with respect tovarious engines.

While all the embodiments discussed hereinabove illustrate the conceptof providing a return port in the body of the bracket, certain heatexchangers do not have an outlet opening which is in the lower extremityof the housing and with heat exchangers of this character only one portis provided in the bracket, namely the outlet port which is juxtaposableto the inlet opening of the heat exchanger. In such cases the returnhose is directly con nected to the housing of the heat exchanger.

Moreover, in a few instances, the bracket and, more particularly, theflange provided thereoupon is not mounted directly to the engine headbut is interposed in the return hose to the radiator. In such cases thebasic c0nfiguration and function of the bracket is the same, that is, aflange is provided at one extremity for communication with the fluidflow and mounting pad means are provided at the other extremity of thebracket for engagement with the heat exchanger mounted thereupon.

In any event, a mounting bracket is provided by my invention, whichserves the dual purposes of establishing fluid flow to the heatexchanger and of physically mounting the heat exchanger on an associatedengine or other object. Thus, the extensive lines and separate bracketspreviously utilized are eliminated with consequent economies inmanufacture and installation of heat exchangers.

I claim:

1. In a heat exchanger system, the combination of: a heat exchangerhaving a housing with a base incorporating fluid inlet and outletopenings; a line containing heat exchange fluid; an elongated bracketbody having a flow pas-sage in one extremity thereof interposed in saidline and having a heat exchanger mount upon the other extremity thereoffor supporting a heat exchanger in accuse spaced relaionship with saidline, said mount incorporating fluid outlet and return ports incommunication, respectively, With the fluid inlet and outlet openings insaid base, said body having a bore operatively connecting said flowpassage and outlet port; and fastening means in said ports engageablewith said base to maintain said exchanger in supported relationship withsaid mount, said fastening means incorporating fluid passagesestablishing fluid communication between said ports and said openings.

2. In a heat exchanger system, the combination of: a heat exchangerhaving a housing with a base incorporating fluid inlet and outletopenings; a line containing heat exchange fluid; an elongatedsubstantially flat bracket body having amounting flange at one extremityincorporating a vertical flow passage therein, said flange beinginserted in said line, said body having a heat exchanger mount at theother extremity thereof for supporting said housing, said mountincorporating fluid and return ports therein communicating,respectively, with the inlet and outlet openings in said base, said bodyhaving a fluid 'oore operatively connecting said floW passage 6 andoutlet port; and fastening means in said mount engageabie with said baseto secure said housing in supported relationship with said mount, saidfastening means having fluid passages therein in communication with saidports to transmit heat exchange fluid from said ports into saidopenings.

Rater-ences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,703,527 Henshall Feb. 26, 1929 1,840,519 McKinley Ian. 12, 19321,975,863 Otwell d. Oct. 9, 1934 1,977,809 Sutter Oct. 23, 19342,044,455 Witzel t me 16, 1936 2,179,792 Saunders et a1. Nov. 14, 19392,215,33 Silverstein Sept. 17, 1940 2,256,889 Booth Apr. 1, 19412,809,810 Carrol et a1. W Oct. 15, 1957 2,86 355 Woodworth Dec. 16, 1958FOREIGN TENTS 884,014 France July 30, 1943

1. IN A HEAT EXCHANGER SYSTEM, THE COMBINATION OF: A HEAT EXCHANGERHAVING A HOUSING WITH A BASE INCORPORATING FLUID INLET AND OUTLETOPENINGS; A LINE CONTAINING HEAT EXCHANGE FLUID; AN ELONGATED BRACKETBODY HAVING A FLOW PASSAGE IN ONE EXTREMITY THEREOF INTERPOSED IN SAIDLINE AND HAVING A HEAT EXCHANGER MOUNT UPON THE OTHER EXTREMITY THEREOFFOR SUPPORTING A HEAT EXCHANGER IN SPACE RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID LINE,SAID MOUNT INCORPORATING FLUID OUTLET AND RETURN PORTS IN COMMUNICATION,RESPECTIVELY, WITH THE FLUID INLET AND OUTLET OPENINGS IN SAID BASE,SAID BODY HAVING A BORE OPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID FLOW PASSAGE ANDOUTLET PORT; AND FASTENING MEANS IN SAID PORTS ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID BASETO MAINTAIN SAID EXCHANGER IN SUPPORTED RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID MOUNT,SAID FASTENING MEANS INCORPORATING FLUID PASSAGES ESTABLISHING FLUIDCOMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID PORTS AND SAID OPENINGS.